(March 28, 2017 at 1:50 pm)Gearbreak Wrote:(March 28, 2017 at 12:58 pm)Simon Moon Wrote: In my opinion, trying to rid people of their false beliefs, is a virtue.
I don't think ridding people of belief is a realistic goal. Unless an afterlife actually exists and we discover it people are always going to fear death and want some answer to it. Ridding it of the beliefs that are harmful like genital mutilation and killing gays is the real focus. Even then open respecful dialogue is important to a dress why those beliefs are wrong. Talking down to them like children doesn't work, because unlike children they don't have to listen to you.
Of course it is not realistic for the masses. But we don't need everyone to stop believing in fairy tales, just enough to get to a "tipping point" where a large number of important decisions will be made using logic, evidence and reason, instead of fantasy.
Not everyone responds to the same type of discussion. Some people do respond to ridicule, along with more reasonable dialogue.
You'd believe if you just opened your heart" is a terrible argument for religion. It's basically saying, "If you bias yourself enough, you can convince yourself that this is true." If religion were true, people wouldn't need faith to believe it -- it would be supported by good evidence.
